Nigredo is part of Alchemy of the Self, a series inspired by the alchemical process and its parallels to C. G. Jung’s concept of individuation.
 

Nigredo marks the descent into the unconscious — the encounter with the shadow and with those parts of ourselves we tend to reject, suppress or leave unseen. Rather than overcoming the darkness, the figure turns toward it. She remains present within it, allowing what has been hidden to come into awareness.
 

For me, this is where transformation begins: not by becoming someone new, but by making space for what has always been part of us.

The surrounding night, the moon and the still-closed lotus flowers hold this moment between concealment and emergence. Small points of light exist within the darkness, without trying to erase it. There is already life here, already movement — even before anything has fully opened.
 

Nigredo is not about defeating the shadow. It is about learning
to recognize it as part of the whole.

Because becoming more fully ourselves does not mean leaving the darkness behind.
It means no longer having to exclude it.